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Fitness Weekly Discussion
What have you been doing lately for your own fitness? Try out any new programs or exercises? Have any questions for others about your training? Want to vent about poor behavior in the gym? Started a new diet or have a new recipe you want to share? Anything else health and wellness related?
My partner is continuing to spearhead the family morning run and I'm super thankful for it.
I do not wake up early and quickly in the morning, and I know they hate having to be the one waking me up, so I gotta shape up here and take responsibility for myself. [Whining redacted]
The runs themselves are quite pleasant, it's just the leaving bed to go outside part that is the biggest hurdle.
Getting out of bed challenge: relatable
I am a couple months into weight lifting, following the Starting Strength program. I am not 100% on it, but it’s three days a week, and basically each day is squat, deadlift, and bench press or overhead bar. I recently added band-assisted pull-ups.
Over the two or so months I’ve added weight almost every day, some days only 2 lbs and some days 10 lbs (one recent day I managed to add 20 total pounds over the previous day in bench press, which was crazy).
I also am consuming whey protein powder mixed with milk, something I’ve never done before and didn’t really think I would ever do. I have only ever been a distance running athlete so a lot of this is sort of different than what I’m used to. I haven’t seriously run in a long time though.
Anyway…that’s it. It’s going well.
That’s crazy with the 20lb bench press improvement. Do you think you actually gained that much strength in a single session, or did you just improve your form after practicing more?
So I just got into strength training in April, so I think I’m still in a “figuring out my max” stage maybe, combined with “it was a good day”. I felt well rested and kinda pumped to be in the gym at that moment (my wife is in early pregnancy which is making it harder to get out of the house).
I also conscripted a random guy in the gym to spot, which I think gave me a little extra mental push to do it. The last few days since then I haven’t upped the weight (maybe 5 lbs total for one set), so I’m just working on getting that a little “nicer looking”.
Welcome to the club! Strength training keeps me engaged because so much of it is a number's game. Enjoy the fast progress that comes with being new to an activity. Even without going too hard into strength training the health and longevity benefits are excel.
There's a lot of good content out there if you're looking for technique or training advice (a lot of bad advice too).
Yeah thanks, just this week it is starting to feel like adding single pound discs to each end is an accomplishment enough for any given day.
Beyond the health aspect, I am hoping to establish a new positive habit, which regardless of what the habit is, feels like an undertaking. Fortunately, I like the music this gym plays and it’s a bouldering gym, so if I feel like “doing something else” for a minute, I can easily go jump to the climbing wall without worrying about a harness/partner.
Slow and steady is the way. Eventually progress starts to come in waves. I'm always interested in people's experience when they start lifting so I'll keep an eye out for your progress!
Trying to maintain my recently rekindled attempt to get physically healthier.
ADHD makes it harder. Most "routines" feel like a bore. I need variety.
I've been doing primarily the first two:
I want to mix it up more, trying to get two workouts in a day.
I just cleaned up my office enough that I can start using my walking treadmill again while computering. While I can't go fast on it, as its hard to think deeply, type, and walk at the same time, movement is good for the ADHD brain and it burns more calories than sitting.
I'm going to wake earlier and go for a walk each morning, before it gets hot out. The nearby creek is beautiful in the summer time.
I hear you, fellow ADHD exerciser. I feel like exercise is inherently repetitive, and hence boring cryptonite for me. A minor thing that sort of helps (nothing helps forever, I have made peace with this) is mental games like, "will there be a bird/frog/butterfly at the creek today?" Or "I found this pink rock along the way to the creek, and I'm going to place it next to the blue one I placed there the other day. Maybe when I have 15 rocks I will kick them all over or yeet them into the creek"
After this spring I was pretty burnt out. Six days a week through the winter and spring with back to back meets did a number on my enthusiasm.
Made some distance, dialed it back to 3 days a week. Compliance with the plan wasn't very good May-July but I did lift at least twice a week.
My partner is also considering triathalon training. I hate running so I'm not doing that aspect. But I do really like cycling so we've been doing a lot of that. I'm seeing some good improvements in my cardio health which was neglected during that strength training.
The last couple weeks I've seen my motivation for lifting start to return. Excited for that and enjoying my time in the gym again.
Hello tildes fitness pals! I've been runing really consistently and I feel so, so good about that. I'm vaguely training for a 5k and at this point just trying to get in the time. I do 2-3 times a week, and I will be starting to lightly reincorpirate strength training.
Im trying to take a slow approach if tackling my diet. It's so fucking hard lol. But I figure if I am for half a pound a week as a caloric deficit that should be manageable. I always think of calorie counting how I did it in college. I had lost 1lb a week but my daily was like 1360cals and it worked mostly because I had little to no money for food. It was on the miserable end of the spectrum but I'm also short so 😐 anyways I'll see what I can do on my own and if the emotional toll is too big then I'm just going to find a meal plan so I don't have to do the heavy lifting.
I guess I kinda want to start getting in more exercise, especially with recent changes in my life. However, i don't want to go to the gym- Idon't live in America, and where I do live, gym memberships are kinda pricey, and any low-en ones are pretty much just treadmills with maybe a bench or two for lifting. Though I suppose that for a beginner, maybe those are the best options.
What I am doing though, is trying to ride my bike more often. I understand it's a low-impact cardio exercise, which is why I feel like it's a good start. But I'm thinking about maybe getting a stretch-band thingy for strength training.